Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Suddenly the 'New York Times' & the "Los Angeles Times' comes to the aid of Bradley Manning

In spite of protests, letter writing campaigns, and petitions, the treatment of Bradley Manning at Quantico has more or less gone under the radar of the major US press. Had not the 'firing' of department of State's spokesman PJ Crowley grabbed headline around the world, the defeaning silence of the US media would continue.Suddenly in the editorial pages of the 'NYT' and the 'LA Times' criticise Manning's treatment at the hands of the military authorities in Virginia.And for the first time Manning's father has spoken out against the cruel way his son is being treated.Will these voices meliorate the conditions of Manning's imprisonment? Probably not. The US president in one of his taking cover behind bureaucratic excuses publicly told us that the military has ensured him that Manning's being properly treated. Whatever that means, we cannot say for sure. The evidence is compelling that he's not receiving say the same favous a John Gotti got in a federal penitentary!This sudden editorial rush to Manning's defence tells us once again how feckless the corporate press is and how craven it behaves before authority...until someone in the government like Crowley has the 'termity' to say aloud what everyone else quietly gulped down as humble pie of obeissance: Manning was being subjected to the same conditions the US liberally handed out at Guantanamo, Abu Gharib, Baghrum, and other sundry hidden dungeons.Timorous is the press, it goes without saying. Where are the muckrackers? They exist but you have go to blogs, community and listener sponsored media to find them. Otherwise they are the voices crying in the wilderness.GuamDiary has some kind words for the 'NYT' and the 'LA Times": better late than never. Yet Manning deserves better and fairer and more humane treatment.